Die for forming barrel-staves



(N5 Model.)

" P. G. ROCKWELL.

DIE FOR FORMING BARREL sTAV-Es. F No. 389,599. PatentedSept. 18,1888..Qs/bqyl 4 iii i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK G. ROCKWELL, OEHARTFORD, CONNEG'JICUT.

DIE FOR FORMING BARREL-STAVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 389,599, datedSeptember 18, 1888.

Application filed December 9, 1887. Serial No. 257.404.

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK 0. Rock- WELL,of Hartford,0onnecticut,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dies for FormingBarrelStaves, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to the class of dies that are used to formbarrel-staves by pressure from wood, pulp, or other suitable fibrousmaterial; and the object of my invention is the production of a diewhich will form a 'barrel-' stave from a blank in a better manner thanany prior die, and which at the same time can be made to remove thefinished stave from the chase, and thus facilitate the manufacture" ofstaves.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which my die is fullyillustrated, Figure 1 shows in plan, side, and'end views the blank used.Fig. 2 is a plan View of the die. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same withthe upper follower removed. Fig. 4 is a View incentral verticallongitudinal section, with a stave in place between the followers. Fig.5 is a view in vertical cross-section of the same. Fig. 6 shows in plan,side, and end-views the completed stave.

My improved dies are more especially intended to press staves to shapefrom wooden boards, and this has previously been accomplis'hed by dieshaving open sides, which have the objection that the material is crowdedtoward the edges and is liable to splinter,which of course produces animperfect stave. Dies 5 have also been made of two pieces, the upperfollower forcing the material into the socket in the chase. This hasbeen found to be impracticable, for the reason that the blank thuspressed is not easily removed from the socket into which it has beenpressed, and after it has been removed the edges have to be trimmed toform the proper bevel to make a tight barrel or cask; and this isexceedingly difficult to accomplish. By the use of my dies these objections are overcome and the manufacture of pressed barrels madepracticable.

In the drawings, the letter a denotes the chase, which is made of anydesirable material in any suitable shape. This chase has a centralopening of a size that will just receive the lower follower, b, which ismade of hard ma- (No model.)

terial, with its .upper end convexed'to the shape which the inner sideof the stave is to receive. Two sides of the upper edges of the openingthrough the chase are beveled to a degree which it is intended that thestave shall have when finished to form a tight barrel. The upperfollower, a, which is made of any desirable metal, has its underfaceconcaved to the shape which the outer side of the stave will have,andits longer bottom edges beveled to fit the bevel made along the upperedges of the opening through the chase, so that when these two beveledsurfaces fit tightly together there will be an opening between thecurved faces of the followers equal to the thickness of the finishedstave.

The dies are operated as follows: The lower follower is placed in thechase, which is sup ported in a press in any convenient manner. A flatblank, which has been previously steamed or otherwise treated, and whichhas its edges chamfered to approximate the final bevel, is placed in thechase on the lower follower, and the upper follower is brought down withgreat force by means of hydraulic or other pressure, which bends theblank to the desired form and compresses the fibers of the material insuch manner as to give strength to the stave and a hard smooth edge withthe desired bevel. If it is desired, pressure may also be applied to thelower follower, which will aid in pr0perly spreading thefibers of thewood and make the stave less liable to split or crack. After sufficientpressure has been exerted, the upper follower is raised by any suitablemechanism, and the lower follower is caused to follow up and push thestave from the mold. By making the edges of the opening in the chasebeveled, as shown, some of the strain which would naturally come on thelower follower is taken by the chase, which is backed up more firmlythan the lower follower,which is movable. These bevels also give asmooth, hard, and even finish to the edges of the stave on the properangle to make a tight joint when a barrel is made up without any furthermanipulation.

Another advantage resides in my dies in the fact that staves ofdifferent thicknesses can be worked with the same chase and lowerfollower, the upper follower merely being made with a larger or smallerbase, to determine the distance between the two followers, while in theold forms it requires a complete die for each thickness of material fromwhich staves are 5 made.

I claim as my invention- The herein-described die for formingbarrelstaves, which consists of the chase having an oblong openingthrough it, the upper edges of 10 the opening on the two longer sidesbeing cut away on a bevel from the edge of the lower follower, theoblong lower follower with convexed upper face fitting the openingthrough the chase, and the oblong upper follower with eoncaved underface, the two longer bottom 1 edges of the coneaved face being beveledoff to fit and come to a bearing on the beveled upper end of the openingthrough the chase, substantially as specified, and for the purpose setforth.

FREDERICK C. ROCKWELL. Witnesses:

H. R. WILLIAMS, G. G. HADDOW.

